2018, September 5th

"The Four Muses" art show at the Miller Library at the Center for Urban Horticulture

Birdhouses by Lisa Bauer will be showcased along with art created by Christie Coxley, Sue Goetz & Daniel Lowery

https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/events/

2015 Northwest Flower & garden Show, February 11-15

Please visit the APLD display garden entitled 'Over The Moon', at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show this month starting on February 11-15th. Chartreuse Landscape Design's Lisa Bauer has created her second display garden for the show featuring a giant full moon, great horned owls, ornate Garden Pavilion (from Scandinavian Pavilion Gardens), round water feature, patio and a full color palette of moon inspired plants.

Meet Seattle Times experts at NW Flower & Garden Show

Ciscoe Morris and other personalities will greet gardeners at the 2014 Northwest Flower & Garden Show at the Washington State Convention Center.

The 2014 Northwest Flower & Garden Show blossoms Wednesday at the Washington State Convention Center. Among the featured attractions are 23 display gardens and a marketplace packed with more than 350 exhibitors. Also on tap: seminars to answer all your questions.

Seattle Times columnist Ciscoe Morris will be among the speakers, as will a number of other notable gardeners who’ve been featured in our pages, including Dan Hinkley, Graham Kerr and Willi Galloway. Stop by The Seattle Times booth to chat with editors, pick up a free poster and get some advice from the folks at Great Plant Picks.

The show opens daily at 9 a.m. and continues through Feb. 9. For details, refer to last Sunday’s Pacific NW magazine or go to gardenshow.com.

RINGMAN / STEVE RINGMAN

Lisa Bauer, right, and Susan Thompson add plants at the Association of Professional Landscape Designers booth Tuesday at the 2014 Northwest Flower & Garden Show. Their work includes lots of recycled materials, reclaimed wood and birdhouses.

Expert Tips for Seattle Gardeners

21 local plant and landscape experts share their green-thumb and design secrets.

Put foliage first. Create a framework of luscious leaves to set off your favorite flowers. For example, set off a swathe of black-eyed Susan with a backdrop of purple smoke bush and the smoky, feathery foliage of bronze fennel for a memorable three-season vignette. —Karen Chapman, garden designer, Le Jardinet, lejardinetdesigns.com

Put foliage first. Create a framework of luscious leaves to set off your favorite flowers. For example, set off a swath of black-eyed Susans with a backdrop of purple smoke bush and the smoky, feathery foliage of bronze fennel for a memorable three-season vignette. —Karen Chapman, garden designer, Le Jardinet,lejardinetdesigns.com

Pick Herbs

More herbs, fewer flowers. Place some big, handmade Italian terra-cotta planters in the sunny side of your garden, stuff them with unusual herbs—especially species recommended by Tamara Murphy (Terra Plata) and Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy). Your garden will smell delicious, and you’ll be inspired to open a cookbook.—Chip Ragen, garden and garden pottery designer, Ragen and Associates, ragenassociates.com

Stay Sharp

When I garden, I always carry a hori-hori knife in a sheath strapped to my side. I love this tool. It can be used to get out the roots of a dandelion, saw off the ties around a balled and burlapped tree, or rough up the roots of a container-bound plant.—Rachel Josephson, garden manager, exteriorscapes.com

Mind Your Mum

Grow what you love and what you can use. I grow flowers to use at Fleurt and to enjoy at home. I love to cook, so I have a large year-round herb garden. This advice was passed down from my mum in Australia, and her mum passed on the same advice after living through hard times during World War II, when food was scarce and you had to grow your own veggies and fruit. —Samantha Crowley, entrepreneur, Fleurt,fleurtseattle.com

A birdbath or stone basin can be a much-needed focal point in a garden that attracts birds year-round. Be sure to site it near a path instead of in a flower bed for easy cleaning and refilling. —Pat Reh, garden designer and general manager, Northwest Botanicals, northwestbotanicals.com

…and the Bees

For vegetables and fruits that require pollination such as squash, blueberries, and tomatoes, you can increase production and overall health by providing an area of pollinator or insectary flowers in an adjacent bed. Plants such as lavender, hyssop, yarrow, echinacea, and numerous others will enhance your vegetable garden. —Erin Lau, landscape designer, Erin Lau Design, erinlaudesign.com

Work Together

Start an urban homesteading cooperative with two to three other households in your neighborhood. It’s a great way to see friends who also have busy lives and kids. In my neighborhood, we’re brooding chicks together, planning a rooster harvest, starting seeds, and sharing our time, spaces, and vehicles to set up coops and veggie gardens. —Katie Pencke, program manager, Seattle Tilth, seattletilth.org

Keep it simple. Add a pop of wow with a few gorgeous containers planted for year-round interest (take one of our container-design classes). Incorporate some vegetables into your plantings. Most importantly, get outside and have fun playing in the dirt. —Gillian Mathews, retailer, Ravenna Gardens, ravennagardens.com

Practice Patience

Rather than doing the entire garden at once with low-quality materials, take on smaller parts and do them correctly. Low-quality materials will cost twice as much in the end. As frustrating as it can be, gardening is like most things—either you have a lot of money or you have a lot of patience. —Cameron Scott, lead designer and owner, Exteriorscapes, exteriorscapes.com

Plan Ahead

It is possible to be delighted by your yard 12 months out of the year with strategic plantings for winter and summer interest, a hardscape that integrates the home, and a plan that fosters urban wildlife. —Lisa Bauer, landscape designer, Chartreuse Landscape Design, chartreuselandscape.com

Image: Lisa Bauer

Feed the Flora

If you’re growing vegetables this spring, don’t forget to add organic fertilizer to the soil before planting. Vegetables can be notoriously heavy feeders, and soil nutrients are not easily available to plants during our cool spring weather. Mix the fertilizer into the soil with a trowel, and then plant your crops. —Brad Halm, urban farmer, Seattle Urban Farm Company, seattleurbanfarmco.com

The trick to pulling off an outdoor living space is to treat it like an indoor one. Add comfortable oversize furniture; accessorize with chandeliers, cushy pillows, and throws; and build a ceiling and walls using structures and plantings. —Karen Stefonick, garden designer, Karen Stefonick Design,karenstefonickdesign.com

Fall for Foliage

A well-constructed garden relies on foliage, not flowers, to carry the design. Though beautiful, flowers are often fleeting. Foliage color holds a garden through an entire season or year. Selecting known foliage performers and repeating these plants in drifts provides a strong basis against which flowering plants can shine. —Tish Treherne, garden designer and owner, Bliss Garden Design, blissgardendesign.com

Grow Smart

Landscaping is a long-term relationship. Building a strong foundation is key to understanding your garden’s needs. Learn its soil type and exposure. Whether your space or budget is large or small, plan a design for all seasons. The time you spend building this relationship will be rewarding. —Daniel Meehan, owner, Northwestern Landscape Design, nwlandscapedesign.com

Get in Shape

Consider using a circle in your garden’s design to add a timeless element that’s both classic and contemporary. A circular lawn or patio creates a focus in your landscape. Place a three-foot circle at the intersection of paths. A 10-foot diameter patio is just enough space for a table and chairs. —Phil Wood, garden designer, Phil Wood Garden Design, philwoodgardens.com

Have Faith

Don’t get too worked up about pests and diseases. Sure, it’s important to remove diseased plant material, but nature has a way of balancing these things out. Just water properly, remember “right plant, right place,” plant beneficial flowers (like dill) to attract predatory insects, and things will be fine. —Katie Vincent, garden hotline educator, Seattle Tilth, seattletilth.org

Layer It On

Just before plants start filling out into their spring wardrobe is the best time to put a layer of mulch around your plants. This is one of the most important tasks in a low-maintenance garden. Feed the soil and suppress weed seeds all at once. —Alan Burke, landscape architect, Classic Nursery and Landscape Company, classicnursery.com

Think Dirty

Soil is the essence of every garden. It defines the types of plants that will grow, the use of nutrients, and how water moves through the garden. A good topsoil structure is fluffy and acts like a sponge, catching water for microorganisms and plants, but still fully drains down into the soil. —Sue Goetz, garden designer and owner, Creative Gardener, thecreativegardener.com